May 30 – Men of Corn
A place that many have recommended me to go to in Guatemala, is Lake Atitlan. I had to change buses three times to get to Panajachel, a little town where there are boats to most of the other small villages around the lake.
The chaotic, but well-oiled, transportation system worked fine even this time, thanks to the shouting men that let people know where they should be going. Their job consists of shouting ‘ANTIGUA, ANTIGUA, ANTIGUA’ as loud as they can in a high-pitched voice, and that they do really well. I guess it’s because of them all the shortforms for the cities exist. No one says the real name of the capital ‘La Cuidad de Guatemala’ for example, instead they simply use ‘Guate’ for short.
It was true what people had told me, the lake and its surroundings is fantastic! The water is clear and deep. The mountains around it are covered in mist rolling in over them. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. The Indians that live around the lake have built their villages high up on the mountainsides, so they have to carry everything up there from the docks. It seems like everyone is carrying something. Some are balancing a bundle of clothes on top of their head, others a sack of rice on their back with a leather band tightly around their forehead.
I walked together with some people along the narrow track from Santa Cruz to San Marcos, passing some smaller settlements on the way. Some Indians were working the soil, planting coffee and corn in the steep hills. They have been driven away from the best land, and have to farm the soil that the white landowners have no interest in. We ended up taking a boat back to Santa Cruz, where we’re staying.
June 4 – Two Swedes Instead of One
The rainy season started a few weeks ago, and now everything is green and lush. It’s usually sunny and warm in the mornings and during the day, then it rains a couple of hours in the evening.
At Guatemala City’s Airport I met my friend Stefan from Sweden again after almost five months on a late Sunday evening. The rain was drizzling down while we loaded the bags in the trunk of an old Mercedes, belonging to a Verbo Church minister, who brought us to his home a bit outside the city. He is one of the people helping us with the project we are doing about the history of Guatemala.
This month we’re going to interview people who lived here during the war, especially during the turbulent 70s and 80s. We will talk with missionaries, Indians and other organisations that can help us get a clearer picture of what actually happened in this dark period of Guatemala’s history. There have been mainly two opposite opinions on who’s the bad guy; one takes the side of the army and the state, the other sees the guerilla as liberators from the oppressive government.
Today, even after the peace agreement on the 21st December 1996, the situation is not very good. The difference between rich and poor is huge. I read in the newspaper that 64% of the population live in extreme poverty (with a daily income less than $2). The Indians are still discriminated against, even though they make up the biggest part of the population. This country needs help now more than ever to get back on it’s feet again.
